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Amityville House
The is a large Dutch Colonial-style house located at 108 Ocean Avenue (formerly 112 Ocean Avenue) in the neighborhood of Amityville, Babylon, New York. The house was the site of several gruesome murders that took place on November 13, 1974, when Ronald Joseph "Butch" DeFeo Jr. murdered his parents, his two brothers, and his two sisters before being convicted of second-degree murder a year later.https://allthatsinteresting.com/amityville-murders-ronald-defeo-jr The month after his conviction, the Lutz family moved into the house and reported numerous cases of paranormal phenomena. In January of 1976, the Lutz family fled the house. In the Jay Anson novel, Anson claims that the paranormal phenomena began after Catholic priest Father Ralph J. Pecoraro (referred to for privacy reasons as Father Mancuso) allegedly visited the house and performed an exorcism, during which he reportedly heard a deep voice tell him to "get out" in the upstairs bedroom that once belonged to DeFeo Jr.'s parents. The book describes a variety of strange phenomena. Flies reportedly swarmed the house even in the cold winter months. Anomalous smells (such as those of perfumes and human feces), sensations (such as being hugged tightly), and sounds (such as those of a broken clock radio) were experienced by various members of the Lutz family. 5-year-old Missy reportedly developed a red-eyed, pig-like imaginary friend, whom Lutz family patriarch George would reportedly see out by the boathouse on several occasions. The phenomena would sometime even develop into Hollywood movie-like escapades, such as green slime oozing from the walls, George's wife Kathy morphing into a frail old woman in full view of him, and a chorus of voicing begging for them to stop during an attempt to bless their home. *'Eyewitness Testimony:' There are numerous witnesses who claim that the paranormal happenings were real. The Lutz family, while believing the novel and film versions to be fanciful exaggerations of the story for the sake of selling better, maintains the truthfulness of the accounts. *'Photographic Evidence:' In 1976, paranormal investigators Ed and Lorraine Warren and a photographer named Gene Campbell took a photograph (image #4 in the gallery below) that reportedly shows the ghost of John DeFeo, one of Ronald's brothers. However, others have contended that the figure in the image is more likely paranormal investigator Paul Bartz, whose white eyes in the photo are likely caused by the infrared film used in the camera.http://www.historyvshollywood.com/reelfaces/amityville-ghost-boy.php *'Haunting:' Many who believe the story believe that the house was and is indeed haunted by the spirits of the murdered DeFeo family. However, some also believe that malevolent and demonic spirits were present in the home at the same time, given the hauntings' intense and aggressive nature. However, there is no real concrete evidence of anything paranormal other than testimony. *'Hoax:' Most researchers contend that the events surrounding the Lutz family's stay in the house are nothing more than a hoax. The fact that several Lutz family members have told stories to have contradicted those of other family members, along with the fact that the Lutzes have time and time again attempted to profit off of the story, have only reinforced the conclusion that everything is a hoax.http://www.historyvshollywood.com/reelfaces/amityvillehorror1979.php Believers have retaliated by pointing out that both George and Kathy Lutz passed polygraph tests run by some of the nation's leading polygraph experts.http://www.amityvillefaq.com/hoax.html#polyexperts However, it should be noted that James and Barbara Cromarty, who bought the house in 1977 and lived in it for a decade, maintain that no paranormal occurrences happened during their stay, further lending credence to the idea that the Lutz's stories were merely hoaxes. *The case was the inspiration for the horror film franchise The Amityville Horror, which started with the 1979 film of the same name directed by Stuart Rosenberg. *The above-mentioned film was actually based on the 1977 Jay Anson novel of the same name. AmityvilleHouse.jpg|The house itself RonaldDefeo.jpg|The mugshots of Ronald DeFeo Jr. LutzFamily.jpg|The Lutz family AmityvilleGhost.jpg|An alleged ghost photo Category:All entries Category:Hauntings Category:United States Category:New York